


settle down, it'll all be clear

by lestered (lgbtrobed)



Series: whistle while you work [3]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: M/M, Meeting the Parents, Psychic Abilities, a bit of underlying angst but mostly fluff tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26272825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lgbtrobed/pseuds/lestered
Summary: He’s started to like it a little better these days. After his parents split up, after he finally started therapy, and so did his mum, after they finally started talking to each other. Seeing it doesn’t evoke the warmth and comfort of, say, his own apartment door, knowing that Phil and Luna and Norman and the weird balcony pigeons are waiting for him on the other side. But he knows this isn’t a bad place to be anymore, and that’s a step in the right direction.That progress doesn’t matter too much at the moment. He’s still nervous as hell.or: pet psychic!Phil finally gets to meet Dan’s mum. And Colin too, of course.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Series: whistle while you work [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799599
Comments: 12
Kudos: 60





	settle down, it'll all be clear

Dan’s pacing.

He knows that he’s pacing. He’s been doing it all morning, padding around the living room in his pyjamas, tripping over Luna multiple times as she darts in between and around his feet. So he doesn’t need Phil to periodically pop in to point out to him that he’s still pacing, because he’s aware. 

But Phil’s doing it again anyway. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching Dan like some kind of animal exhibit. 

“Babe,” he says carefully. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Dan stops and purses his lips, giving himself a moment to deliberately calm down before he looks at Phil and nods. “I know.”

“Do you?” Phil raises his eyebrows a little. Luna slinks over to him and he scoops her up, letting her nuzzle his cheek. “That’s not what your body language says.”

His shoulders slump as he pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “I know it’s not,” he mumbles. “This is just weird, alright?”

He hears Phil walking across the room and a moment later his hand is on Dan’s shoulder, smoothing around to the back of his neck. Dan meets his gaze tiredly. He’s still holding Luna in one arm, her nails seemingly clinging onto his t-shirt sleeve. His glasses are a little crooked, he hasn’t shaved yet this morning, and they’re standing so close that Dan can count all of the freckles lightly dotting his cheeks. 

He’s absolutely perfect. 

“Are you…” Phil starts, then pauses to bite his lip. Dan notices a hint of insecurity in his expression. “Are you worried she’s not gonna like me?” 

“Of course not,” Dan says immediately. He reaches up and wraps his hand around Phil’s wrist. “She’s gonna love you, I know she is.”

Phil tilts his head questioningly to the side. Dan almost laughs because it’s the exact expression Phil wears when he’s asking an animal what’s causing their distress. But then Phil’s hand slides up the back of his neck, fingers lightly massaging through his curls, and he forgets about it. He just steps in close, wrapping his arms around Phil’s waist and tucking his head into his shoulder with a soft groan.

“I’ve never brought someone home to my mum before,” he says, even though Phil hasn’t technically asked the question. “I’m not even used to her knowing I’m gay, really. And now there’s you, and I’ve never been this serious about anyone and it… I don’t know. Feels like a lot all at once.”

Phil hums and turns his head slightly toward Dan’s, pressing a kiss to his hairline. “Do you wanna reschedule? You can say I’m sick, or got called into work-” 

Dan shakes his head. “No,” he breathes in deeply and straightens up again, looking Phil in the eyes. “I want to do this. I just might be a mess the entire time, that’s all.”

Phil cracks a smile at that, passing Luna into his arms and giving him a light, sweet kiss on the lips. “Wouldn’t expect anything less.”

*

“Does this jumper look alright?” Phil asks later.

He’s standing in front of the full length mirror in his bedroom— _their_ bedroom now, Dan reminds himself—smoothing his hand down over the front of the dark blue cable-knit jumper he’s just pulled on.

“It’s better than alright,” Dan murmurs. He walks up and drapes his arms over Phil’s shoulders from behind, dropping a kiss onto his cheek. “You look very handsome.”

“You don’t think the grey one looks better?” Phil looks down at the jumper that’s wadded up on the floor next to his foot, before meeting Dan’s eyes in the mirror again. He tilts his head in consideration.

“This one makes your eyes pop,” he says after a moment of deliberation. “And the cat hair doesn’t show up as much.”

Phil nods, blowing out a breath and brushing his hand through his quiff one last time before turning around. “Okay,” he says. He slips his hand into Dan’s and they both turn towards the bed. Luna’s stretched out right in the center, where the sun hits.

“Remember what we talked about, missy?” Phil asks. 

Luna stretches her legs out in front of her and yawns, then purrs. “Right,” Phil smiles approvingly. “Play nice with the dog.” 

She stands up, hops off the bed and strolls over to them, then plops down at their feet. 

“Okay,” Dan sighs, unconsciously squeezing Phil’s hand a little tighter. “Here we fucking go.”

*

The front door looks the same as it always does. 

Dark wood, brass handle, adorned with the same simple, autumnal wreath that his mum always hangs up on the first of October. He used to dislike the sight of it. Any time he had to visit home in his early adult years, young, closeted, and miserable, this front door seemed like nothing more than a motif for everything he wanted to leave behind and forget. 

He’s started to like it a little better these days. After his parents split up, after he started therapy, and so did his mum, and his brother. After he came out, and they all finally started _talking_ to each other. Seeing it doesn’t evoke the comfort of, say, his own apartment door, knowing that Phil and Luna and Norman and the weird balcony pigeons are waiting for him on the other side. But this isn’t a bad place to be anymore, and that’s a step in the right direction.

That progress doesn’t matter too much at the moment. He’s still nervous as hell.

“Um,” Phil says after they’ve been stood there for a bit, leaning into Dan’s side for a quick second to get his attention. “Are you gonna... knock, or something?” 

Dan looks over at him. At some point, Phil must’ve taken Luna out of her carrier, because she’s looking at him curiously from his arms. Dan’s overprotective dad instinct would be appalled at this development if anyone other than Phil were holding her. But it is Phil, so he simply softens at the sight of them.

“Yeah,” he says, “I am.” He reaches out, petting his hand over Luna’s head and smiling. 

With the other, he raises his arm and knocks on the door.

“One minute!” His mum’s voice rings out from inside the house. She’s accompanied by some unmistakable barking. That immediately puts him at ease.

The door opens a few moments later. “Dan,” his mum smiles widely at him, opening her arms for a hug. “It’s so good to see you, dear.”

Dan steps into her embrace, tentatively wrapping his arms around her in return. The physical affection is something they haven’t quite mastered yet either, but he is happy to see her.

“S’good to see you too, mum,” he says. He smiles a bit as he breathes in the scent of her coconut-scented shampoo, the same one she’s been using for as long as he can remember. He breaks away when he hears the sound of nails skittering on hardwood and laughs as Colin jumps up to greet him, tail wagging furiously. “And it’s good to see you too, Colin,” he says in a sweeter tone, bending down and scratching behind his ears just where he likes. “Good boy.” 

Then he straightens up, clearing his throat and stepping forward again. 

“And, um,” he reaches out, placing his hand on Phil’s back and guiding him inside, shutting the door behind him. “Mum, this is Phil. My boyfriend.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Howell,” Phil says politely. He seems nervous, shifting around a bit.

His mum beams and pulls him into a hug as well, careful not to squash Luna in between them. 

“It’s lovely to meet you, Phil,” she says, pulling back and then resting her hands on his shoulders. “You’ve got quite the reputation around my office. But, please, call me Karen. Oh, and I think I remember this little angel,” she coos, leaning down to Luna’s level. “Hello, cutie.”

Dan meets Phil’s eyes over his mum’s shoulder and they both snicker at the idea of Luna as anything close to angelic. She’s too devilish for her own good, but he wouldn’t trade her, and he knows that Phil feels the same. Phil lets her leap out of his arms and she immediately makes her way over to Colin, the two of them staring at each other apprehensively. 

“Now,” his mum says to Phil, stepping to the side to usher him in “Come in, make yourself comfortable. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

*

He’s gotta admit, he likes the sight of it. Seeing Phil settled on the couch in his living room with Colin’s paws on his knees is nothing short of adorable, especially when he leans in for a hug and Colin practically drapes himself over his shoulder.

He knows right away that he was right about at least one thing: his mum definitely loves Phil. Naturally she’s got a whole heap of questions for him, too, starting with the coworker who’d told her about him in the first place.

“Oh, Laurie,” Phil laughs. “I remember her. Her daughter’s guinea pig, Reggie, was starting to eat more than usual and they were worried about his weight. It turned out he was actually a she, and she was already pregnant when they adopted her. Her name’s Regina now.”

A lot of the conversation consists of stories Dan knows: how Phil had wanted to go into the veterinary field but fainted during a dog surgery at his work experience, or how he’d convinced his anti-pet landlord to let Luna move in by training her to put on a charming, goody-two-shoes act when he came over for inspection. Anecdotes with that typical Phil Lester Charm about them. Seeing his mum respond so well puts him at ease, enough to even rest his arm around Phil’s shoulders at one point. At the other end of the room, Colin and Luna continue trying to figure each other out with hesitant stare-downs and curious pawing. That’s certainly a sight to see.

“So he’s happy?” Dan’s mum says as Dan comes back from the kitchen with two glasses of Ribena. Colin’s chin is resting on Phil’s knee now. “You know, he looked so sad when I first saw him at the shelter. I wonder sometimes if he’s carrying any of that around with him still.”

Dan sets their drinks down on the coffee table before taking his seat next to Phil and casting his mum a dubious glance. “You do?”

She looks back at him. “Of course. Animals hold onto trauma too, Dan.”

“She’s right,” Phil shrugs and gives him a knowing look before turning back to his mum. “But to answer your question, he was never traumatised by abuse, or anything like that. The shelter was just a bit lonely for him. He’s happy to be here with you.”

He looks down when Colin paws at him again, holds his gaze for a moment and then nods. “And he wants to say thanks for not changing his name when you adopted him. Learning to answer to something else would’ve been a pain.”

Dan feels a burst of warmth in his chest when she smiles.

*

Phil tries to help clean up after they’ve finished their coffee later that evening, but Dan’s mum isn’t having it. 

“Please, you’re our guest,” she tells him. She glances down at Colin sprawled heavily across Phil’s legs, snoring lightly. “Besides, you wouldn’t want to disturb sleeping beauty over here.” Dan follows his mum to the kitchen after Phil reluctantly agrees to stay put.

“So,” she says expectantly as she finishes washing out the first mug and hands it over to Dan to dry. He takes it and wipes it down.

“So?” He asks. He’s not sure what she’s getting at. 

“ _So,”_ she clarifies, “you seem to be pretty smitten with mister Phony Psychic Lady over there.”

Oh. So that’s what this is about. He smiles a little, thinking back to the phone conversation that started it all.

“Alright, yeah,” he rolls his eyes, “you win. He cured my cat and he’s adorable and I love him, okay? You were right.”

Down on the floor Luna winds her way around Dan’s legs, then his mum’s. 

“I know I was never Mother of the Year,” she says in a slightly more serious tone, washing out another mug and passing it over to him. “But I get things right sometimes, don’t I?”

He dries it and places it in the cupboard in front of him. He doesn’t exactly know what to say about the Mother of the Year bit, maybe they ought to save that for the next family therapy session. The second part he can’t argue with, though. 

“I guess when you get it right, you really get it right,” he offers with a laugh.

“Oi, Colin. Don’t eat those, buddy,” he hears faintly from the other room. “I don’t think your mum would be very happy.”

That’s followed by a whine and what sounds like Colin scratching the leg of the coffee table, where they haven’t yet cleared off their desserts from earlier. 

“It’s not even worth it, mate,” Phil adds. “They’re vegan. Trust me on this one.”

His mum must’ve overheard, because she stifles a laugh next to him while Dan tries to look offended, but he can’t hold it for long. Phil’s right, technically. Veganism’s great, but he’s yet to find any cakes that make his mouth water the way it used to.

“So, I don’t think you’re gonna let this guy go, are you?” His mum asks in amusement, handing him the last mug she’s washed out.

Dan takes it, wipes it down, then closes the mug cupboard. “Yeah, no,” he can’t even say it without a smile. “Not a chance.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!
> 
> [reblogs](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/lestered/628268309997109248) are super highly appreciated ❤️
> 
> come talk to me on [tumblr!](https://lestered.tumblr.com/ask)


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